Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey has fended off the highest-profile Democratic primary challenge of his decades in federal office, defeating the rising Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a member of the state’s legendary political dynasty.
Prior to this race, no member of the Kennedy family had lost an election in Massachusetts, according to the Cook Political Report.
Markey’s victory means the 74-year-old incumbent, who became a Massachusetts congressman before the 39-year-old Kennedy was born, advances to November’s general election and will likely continue to represent the solidly liberal state in the Senate for another six years, while Kennedy — at least for a time — will be out of Congress, since state law prohibited him from running for reelection to his House seat and in the Senate primary at the same time.
